The chances of the area seeing between a half-inch and an inch of rain stand at 70 percent, with the precipitation expected to start late this afternoon and last into Sunday morning.

"We'll catch up a little bit but not a whole lot," said Tom Dougherty, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

The rain comes courtesy of a cold front that swept through Florida's Panhandle on Friday, depositing between 1 and 2 inches in some spots.

And if the showers line up right, Dougherty said, Tampa Bay could see just as much.

Still, officials caution that no matter how much rain falls this weekend, it isn't likely to make a dent in the overall shortage.

"Any rainfall would be helpful," said Robyn Felix, spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. "But we've been in a drought for over 3 1/2 years and we have a 30-inch rainfall deficit."

Felix said even with rain, it's still important for people to make sacrifices.

"If we really get half an inch, we would encourage people to skip their watering day."